Barclay CTA Index gains 0.65 per cent in October

Managed futures gained 0.65 per cent in October, according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.

Year to date, the index remains down 2.52 per cent.

“A partial US government shutdown and another debt ceiling debate were able to temporarily stall, but not derail ongoing rallies in global equities and fixed income,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

Seven of the eight Barclay CTA indices had positive returns in October. The Systematic Traders Index was up 0.75 per cent, Diversified Traders gained 0.65 per cent, Financial & Metals Traders were up 0.51 per cent, Agricultural Traders gained 0.48 per cent, and Currency Traders added 0.37 per cent.

“Low eurozone CPI numbers (0.7 per cent) prompted concerns of European Central Bank easing and sparked a sell-off in the EUR from higher prices earlier in the month,” says Waksman. “The yen continued to lose ground as the Bank of Japan’s commitment to quantitative easing remained firm.”

The one losing sector in October was Discretionary Traders, incurring a small loss of 0.10 per cent.

The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which measures performance of the largest CTAs, gained a 1.21 per cent in October. The BTOP50 has lost 1.12 per cent in 2013.

Year to date, Agricultural Traders have gained 2.67 per cent, and Currency Traders are up 0.53 per cent.

The Diversified Traders Index has lost 3.93 per cent in 2013, Systematic Traders are down 2.23 per cent, and Discretionary Traders have lost 0.44 per cent.